Historically slow when it comes to nightlife and dining, Union Station is the last place you’d expect to sip a hibiscus elderflower martini while lounging on blue velvet benches. That changes this week, when a new pop-up bar invites travelers to do just
that while taking in a rare view of the Beaux-Arts style architecture. Continental Club opens just underneath the train station’s gold leaf-checkered arched ceilings, guarded by Legionnaires statues up above the top mezzanine, on Thursday, August 20, at 3 p.m.
Rochelle Julick, the D.C.-based founder behind woman-owned mobile bartending company SHKR, is operating the new bar overlooking the station’s breathtaking grand hall until the end of September, hopefully with an extension through the end of the year, to celebrate the U.S.‘s 250th anniversary.
Julick hopes her reimagined takes on classic cocktails, perfected while bartending events across the D.C. area with her team, will entice travelers to check their bags at the door and soak up overhead views of the historic transit hub built in the early 1900s — while also becoming a destination cocktail lounge for locals with live musical performances and DJs on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
There’s plenty of classic whiskey drinks on the cocktail menu, including a Manhattan made with Bulleit Rye Bourbon, an Old Fashioned, and a Georgia Gold Rush made with honey syrup. Gin cocktails include a lavender, spiked French 75, and a gimlet flavored with cucumber and basil syrup. Tequila drinks also play off a classic margarita, adding passionfruit puree and jalapeño-infused agave to the Pacific Sunset or fresh grapefruit juice and a hibiscus foam to the Mojave Bloom. And, for all the late-night travelers trying to stay awake, there’s a classic espresso martini called the Night Train.
Every table will get a complimentary bowl of truffle and rosemary-coated popcorn, while fancy bar bites, like mini lobster rolls, fried truffle mac and cheese bites, and relish-crowned hot dogs, make up the rest of the food menu. Julick hopes to expand the menu to more large dishes, like rigatoni alla vodka or maybe even a caesar salad, in the future.
For the Hill workers streaming out of the Capitol dome, upon which patrons have a perfect view through the tall windows behind the Legionnaires statues, a happy hour from 3 to 5 p.m. includes $14 martinis, a $12 rotating specialty cocktails, $8 beers, and $10 wines.
To find Continental Club, bar patrons can take an elevator on the left side of the grand hall, next to fast-casual Chopt, up to the highest floor. Or, climb the stairs up to the top mezzanine and follow signs to find the hidden bar. Julick plans to set up a stylized rail pass machine in the main hall that will print out “tickets” inviting travelers to the bar with easy to follow directions.
The lounge’s five open rooms are connected by dark, marble tunnels, which recalls the layout of a vintage parlor car. Julick leaned into that style, adding regal blue drapery, gold tassels, and inviting walnut-brown wood furniture to transport guests to the golden age of rail travel.
“We really wanted to bring out the beauty of the station. You’re here for the views,” Julick tells Eater. She plans to put some curtains up later in the night, just to cover up the quiet shops on the mezzanine level behind the dome’s gallery and give a sense of privacy to the lounge.
Three of the open parlors will always be open to the public. One features blue velvet benches around low tables that will have table service, and a wrap-around wooden bar has matching chairs and is surrounded by round high tops. Julick wants to keep the bar area open to standing room, lamenting how some craft cocktail bars have stuck to only sit-down service that doesn’t allow people to mingle and make new friends.
A limited beverage and food menu is in effect till Monday, September 7, for only walk-in guests, with Resy reservations and a full menu available for the rest of the month. Two private rooms in the back are available for private events and some upcoming activations put on by Union Station.
The pop-up is a partnership between SHKR and the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, the organization behind the station’s upkeep that worked with the Department of Transportation to open the newly manicured lawn and operating fountain in front of the station.
“By reimagining this space as a destination for cocktails and connection, Continental Club adds a new layer to the station’s historic identity,” Doug Carr, CEO of the redevelopment corporation, said in a statement.
And there’s more quick-serve options on the way, too, with Andy’s Pizza, Housebar, Capo Deli, Joe & the Juice, and Springbone Kitchen all expected to arrive over the next few months.
For Julick, Continental Club acts as a proof of concept for her more long-term goal of opening a craft cocktail bar in the District after creating her roving cocktail serving company during the pandemic.
While she always pictured opening her own bar in Georgetown or Dupont Circle, she’s been enjoying hanging out around Capitol Hill while building out Continental Club. “There’s so many beautiful, historic restaurants and bars that have been around here forever,” Julick says. “There’s such a subculture that I just wasn’t really aware of that I have grown to love.”
Continental Club’s hours run 3 p.m. on weekdays to 9 p.m., Monday through Wednesday, before extending till 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Sundays will have shortened hours, with the bar opening at 4 p.m. and closing at 8 p.m.
